Students sacrifice holidays to see World Cup kickoff

Strikes, holidays and the 2010 World Cup have left Algerian students with little time to prepare for this year's exams.

By Nazim Fethi for Magharebia in Algiers – 05/04/10

Algerian baccalaureate students are racing to complete their studies in time for the 2010 World Cup.

"The most important thing is for me to pass my baccalaureate without having to worry about the national team's matches," final-year math student Samir said.

On March 21st, the Ministry of Education announced its decision to move Algeria's baccalaureate exams to June 6th. The original exam date of June 13th overlapped with the World Cup, which is scheduled to take place June 11th - July 11th.

Algeria has earned a spot in this year's World Cup for the first time since 1986. The football tournament's timing played a role in the ministry's decision.

"All Algerians have the right to watch the World Cup in peace, and we will take that into consideration," Education Minister Boubekeur Benbouzid said in a March 13th meeting with local education chiefs.

The move shortened a study schedule already disrupted by this year's labor dispute between teachers and the Algerian government. Students fell behind after a bargaining impasse and a series of demonstrations – most recently a three-week strike preceding the spring holidays – left Algerian secondary-school classrooms without teachers.

Minister Benbouzid decided to eliminate this year's holidays for final-year students, who have to prepare for exams under stringent UNESCO standards.

"Only those classes that have been affected by the disruption to the academic year will be subject to catch-up lessons," the minister said following the March strike. "The catch-up classes will be run in accordance with the delays experienced by each school."

For some students, the World Cup is worth the sacrifice.

"We've spent too much time doing nothing," final-year literature student Selma said. "Because of the strikes, we sacrificed our spring holidays so that we won't have to take our baccalaureate exams right in the middle of the World Cup."

Teachers have also adapted to the tighter schedule.

Saliha, a science teacher, said that she would have liked to spend the holidays with her children.

"But my professional conscience forbids me from abandoning my pupils, who I have been with ever since their first year of secondary school, just two months before their baccalaureate exams," she said.

The ministry's change of the exam date ended months of anxiety from students and parents. Benbouzid said March 13th that officials were undecided between June 7th and June 13th exam dates, and that the entire government would have to weigh in on the decision due to its complexity.

Source: Magharebia.com
Link: http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/features/2010/04/05/feature-01.

Egypt releases ElBaradei backer

Monday, 5 April 2010

The Egyptian publisher of a book supporting the former UN nuclear watchdog head Mohamed ElBaradei has been released from jail, officials say.

Publisher Ahmed Mahanna was detained on Saturday and released a day later.

Mr ElBaradei, the former head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, has recently returned to Egypt and launched a campaign for political reform.

He is emerging as a potential challenger to Hosni Mubarak, who has been in power for nearly three decades.

The unnamed official did not give any reason for the detention, it was reported.

Appeal

The Arab Network for Human Rights said that Ahmed Mahanna's office was raided and his computer confiscated.

Mr ElBaradei has hinted he may stand against 81-year-old President Mubarak, who has ruled since 1981, in an election due in 2011. Observers believe Mr Mubarak wants his son Gamal to succeed him.

Analysts say Mr ElBaradei's appeal for many Egyptians is that he is a civilian in a country long ruled by soldiers, and that he is untainted by corruption allegations.

But detractors writing in state media have portrayed him as a figure who is out of touch with Egyptian life, having lived abroad for so many years.

Mr ElBaradei, 67, built a strong reputation as head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2005.

Source: British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC).
Link: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8603420.stm.

Supporters celebrate birthday of jailed Kurdish leader in Turkey

Istanbul - Thousands of supporters of jailed Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan gathered in his hometown Monday morning to celebrate his birthday, Turkish media outlets reported.

Some 8,000 of his followers descended on the village Omerli, which lies in the Sanliurfa province in south eastern Turkey.

For the first time, security forces allowed 500 people to enter the village. The group included politicians from the Peace and Democracy Party, who placed a pair of red carnations at the site where two Ocalan supporters were shot last year during clashes with police.

Others had their pictures taken in the house and room where Ocalan, the leader of the banned Kurdistan Workers' Party, was born. They grabbed handfuls of earth out of the garden as souvenirs.

Relatives of Ocalan reportedly welcomed the supporters, handing out sweets and homemade bread, and letting their hands be kissed.

"Good that you were born, Ocalan," the crowd shouted.

One of his sisters, speaking in Kurdish outside the house, called for peace and an end to bloodshed.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/317192,supporters-celebrate-birthday-of-jailed-kurdish-leader-in-turkey.html.

Ancient Assyrian capital in danger of falling into Tigris river

Sharqat, Iraq - A 4,500-year-old fortress city, the first capital of ancient Iraq's Assyrian civilization, is in danger of falling into Iraq's Tigris River, an antiquities official warned Monday.

The archaeologist, from the antiquities department for central Iraq's Salah al-Din province, said the river has already washed away more than 30 meters of the ancient city of Assur, the religious capital of ancient Iraq's Assyrian civilization.

"This season, the river washed away dozens of clay tablets and statues because there is no protective flood wall," Mohammed al- Jabouri told the German Press Agency dpa.

The ruined city, now known as Qalah Sharqat, or "Castle of Earth," dates back to 2,500 BC. It was named for its patron god, Assur, who also gave the Assyrian civilization its name.

German archaeologists partially excavated some parts of it during a 1913-1918 expedition, but left after World War I. Since then, al-Jabouri said, no work has been done to unearth whatever artifacts might remain on the site.

He called on the central Iraqi government, the provincial government, and all those interested in world heritage to speed the release of funds to build a wall to protect the castle from the river.

"The antiquities department in Salah al-Din province has repeatedly asked the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities to protect the castle from the flood, but the ministry has done nothing so far, as if this is a matter of no concern," al-Jabouri said.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/317197,ancient-assyrian-capital-in-danger-of-falling-into-tigris-river.html.

Largest UN peacekeeping force to withdraw from Congo in 2011

New York (Earth Times) - The United Nations peacekeeping operation in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the world's largest, has been asked by the government there to leave by September 2011, a report to the UN Security Council said Monday.

The report by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said one reason for the draw down of the UN Mission in Congo (MONUC) was that the country has been mostly "conflict free." Its relations with neighbors have been normalized and reconstruction efforts are gathering pace.

The government of President Joseph Kabila has called for completing the draw down in September next year, with the first of the 22,000 military, police and civilian personnel beginning to leave in June this year.

"Consistent with the principles set out by the government, the complete withdrawal of MONUC force from the eight provinces will ensure that national institutions formally assume full responsibility for independently maintaining law and order, and the necessary security arrangements there, without the presence of the MONUC," Ban said in the report.

He said Kinshasa has requested that MONUC train and equip 20 police battalions, with 550 personnel each, which would take three years to complete. Kinshasa requested that three battalions be trained in the first year, eight in the second and nine in the third year.

Ban asked the council to renew MONUC's mandate, which will expire next month, for a further 12 months during the draw down process.

The 15-nation Security Council will send a delegation to Congo, Rwanda and Uganda for a nine-day visit beginning on April 17.

Ban said he agreed with Kinshasa's assessment of the situation that the level of security and stability in conflict-free provinces would permit MONUC's departure "without creating an unmanageable risk of renewed instability."

But he warned that provinces where fighting has continued would be a challenge to Kinshasa.

Congo, which will celebrate its 50th anniversary of independence from Belgium in June, has called for an official schedule for MONUC's withdrawal by then. The country is planning for general elections next year.

MONUC was first deployed in Congo in 1999 to assist Kinshasa deal with conflicts on its territory involving armies from neighboring Rwanda and Uganda.

Campaign to save animals in troubled south Sudan

2010-04-05

Indian soldiers help south Sudanese animals amid inter-ethnic clashes, food insecurity.

MALAKAL, Sudan - As a region still recovering from years of brutal civil war and battling inter-ethnic clashes and food insecurity, southern Sudan would appear to have bigger worries than animal welfare.

But when so many people rely on animals for their survival, improving their health and tackling rising death rates is of critical importance, veterinarians say.

“People’s lives depend on animals but the services for them are very few,” said Sukhir Singh, a vet, who runs a basic but busy animal clinic in the dusty southern Sudanese town of Malakal, capital of the underdeveloped but oil-rich Upper Nile state.

“Most cannot afford even the drugs that are available,” added Singh, a lieutenant colonel in the Indian army, which runs the animal unit as part of the UN peacekeeping mission in Sudan (UNMIS) operations.

Long lines of cows and donkeys arrive each day for free treatment. Their owners are in no doubt about the benefits of this service.

“I have two donkeys but this one is sick,” said Yahir Adam Hassan, who delivers river water in converted oil drum carts pulled by the donkeys. “I don’t have enough money to pay for treatment, so without help, I would lose my livelihood.”

Sudanese students help the Indian vets, who provide training for students and community animal health workers, who then take their skills to more remote areas.

Most patients are working animals – cows, donkeys, horses, as well as sheep and goats – but one young boy carries in his thin puppy for treatment too. A goat with a broken leg has its limb cast in plaster, while the dog gets an injection to kill internal parasites.

The clinic has treated more than 55,000 animals since 2006, with a second opening this February in Bor, the state capital of Jonglei, Singh said.

Wealth and death

Cows represent wealth and status for many people in southern Sudan and are the source of regular raids and revenge attacks.

More than 450 people have been killed in inter-communal clashes in the south this year, after 2,500 were killed in 2009, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in southern Sudan.

Poor or badly timed rains, combined with insecurity, have also affected animal health, with organizations now boosting efforts to vaccinate cattle in an attempt to cut rising rates of infection.

“People primarily depend on livestock for their income, and the death rate among animals has been rising steadily,” the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said in a 16 March statement.

“Drugs to treat sick animals are either prohibitively expensive or unavailable in the local markets,” the ICRC added, warning that many animals had not been vaccinated since 2006.

“In order to alleviate the hardship of both resident and displaced communities it has now become crucial to improve the health of their animals.”

It is working alongside Veterinarians without Borders to vaccinate 50,000 cattle before rains close roads to many areas. More than 30,000 have already been vaccinated, including in the remote and swampy Pibor county area of Jonglei state. The campaign is targeting four major cattle diseases, including pneumonia.

“The animals – mainly cows – are not only a source of food and milk but are also used for trading,” the ICRC said. “The loss of wealth makes it increasingly difficult for pastoralists to meet their families' needs.”

The few centers such as Malakal’s clinic are therefore highly valued.

When heavy fighting broke out in February 2009 between northern and southern soldiers in the town, nearby university buildings were badly damaged by tank and mortar shells, but the clinic was spared.

“People did not want to destroy this [the clinic],” said John Malak, who had brought his cow to be treated. “They said, ‘This is something that is for everybody’.”

Many travel long distances to reach it.

“I live across the other side of the river, so I had to bring my cow across by boat,” said Peter Augustine, a cattle herder.

Mobile clinics

The team also runs mobile clinics in more remote areas, treating more than 8,000 animals over the past year.

Outside Mayom in Unity state, the vets erect a tent, and Indian soldiers and cattlekeeping boys work together to put cows into a restraining pen for the vet to examine.

“Many have problems with worms, ticks and other parasites,” said Singh, injecting a cow to kill internal worms, one of more than 280 cows, sheep and goats treated in the two-day camp.

“It takes a little while for the message to get out that we are here,” said Singh. “But once the first animals have been treated, the news travels very quickly and many more come.”

The center also provides training for community animal health workers, who can provide basic advice to improve livestock health across wide areas.

Radio programs also advise to farmers on how to prevent diseases – and what to do if they think their animals are sick.

Source: Middle East Online.
Link: http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=38255.

Court bails Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood members

Monday, 5 April 2010

An Egyptian court has ordered the release on bail of 16 senior members of the banned Muslim Brotherhood, the group has said.

The men were arrested in February and accused of forming a "terrorist group" and plotting against the government.

It is not yet clear when the 16 will be released. In the past, the government has used the country's emergency laws to override similar court decisions.

The Muslim Brotherhood is the country's largest opposition movement.

A verdict in the case against the 16 men has not been reached.

The organization denies the allegations made against its members and says it wants to achieve an Islamic state in Egypt by peaceful means.

Among those detained is Muslim Brotherhood deputy leader Mahmud Ezzat.

The son of another detainee told the AFP news agency he was expecting his father to be given bail, but that the order had not been carried out because of a public holiday.

The Muslim Brotherhood gets around a ban on opposition parties by running independent candidates in elections to Egypt's parliament.

Members are frequently detained and their homes raided.

Source: British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC).
Link: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8603401.stm.